Notes
This page is a work in progress.
The page contains a list of notes from books I've read broken down by topic. A sentence or two summarizes each book. Click the linked title to get the notes.
I have no idea how useful these book notes will be for you but they are immensely helpful for me. The notes are by no means all-inclusive and do not replace the book. It's simply a list of thoughts and ideas from the book that struck me as interesting at the time of reading. If I read the book again today, the notes would likely look completely different.
Biography
John H. Patterson: Pioneer in Industrial Welfare by Samuel Crowther
John Henry Patterson was an American industrialist. He bought a floundering cash register company and turned it into a global success while pioneering advertising, sales, and other business practices still used today.
The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen
Rich Cohen tells the story of a Russian immigrant, Sam Zemurray, who saw an opportunity in the banana business and seized it. Along the way, he out-hustled and out-innovated the giant of the industry, United Fruit.
Business
Once in Golconda by John Brooks
John Brooks chronicles the 1920s bull market, its key players including Richard Whitney, the aftermath following the Great Crash of 1929, and how the events of that era transformed Wall Street.
Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son by George Horace Lorimer
Letters from a Self-Made Merchant relates the fictitious correspondence of John Graham, a wealthy Chicago pork packer, to his son. The elder Graham shares some timeless advice with his son on business, career, college, and life.
Economics
Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market by Walter Bagehot
First published in 1873, Walter Bagehot describes the intricacies of the money market and, more importantly, the necessary response when managing a financial crisis.
Finance
Capital Account: A Money Manager’s Reports on a Turbulent Decade 1993-2002 by Marathon
Capital Account is a selection of reports by Marathon Asset Management. The reports introduce their capital cycle approach to investing and explain the impact the cycle had on businesses, markets, and investors during the late 1990s bubble.
The Facts about Speculation by Thomas Gibson
Thomas Gibson warns of the repeated mistakes often made when people speculate in the market. The classic, written in 1923, adds historical context to what's been known for a long time.
The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor by Howard Marks
Howard Marks's The Most Important Thing lays the groundwork for being a successful investor. He details the investment principles needed to tackle the complexity of markets and investing.
Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks
Howard Marks explains the pattern of cycles found throughout market history. An investor who understands the different cycles -- the history, the driving factors, their interconnectedness, and the role of psychology -- can avoid common errors and best position their portfolio for success.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre
Edwin Lefevre's fictionalized account of Jesse Livermore is a classic. It shares timeless principles on trading in markets while warning of the biggest obstacle that plague speculators and investors alike -- human nature.
The Interpretation of Financial Statements by Benjamin Graham
Published in 1937, Ben Graham covers the basics of accounting and financial statements. It's a condensed guide on reading the balance sheet and income statement, explaining common metrics, and tips on how to determine the soundness of a company.
Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman
Seth Klarman's rare classic is about managing risk. Borrowing Ben Graham's primary concept for the title, the book expands on the value investing philosophy and why it's so successful.
Buffett Partnership Letters by Warren Buffett
The Buffett Partnership Letters are classic reading for any value investor. Readers get an inside view of Warren Buffett's investment philosophy -- seeing where it did and did not evolve -- early in his career.
The Big Secret for the Small Investor by Joel Greenblatt
Joel Greenblatt explains why the average investor has an advantage over the pros with this introduction to investing. He covers the different methods for valuing a business, the limits of mutual funds, how different index fund weightings work, the (mis)behavior of investors, and why a long term perspective is so important.
Quantitative Momentum by Wesley Gray & Jack Vogel
Gray and Vogel introduce the theory behind momentum, what drives the effect, why it should persist, and how to build an improved quantitative momentum strategy that exploits the sustainable edge in investor misbehavior.
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Benjamin Graham's classic was first published in 1949. Graham wanted to teach investors the basic principles needed to navigate markets. In doing so, he teaches investors how to manage themselves.
Common Stocks As Long Term Investments by Edgar Lawrence Smith
Edgar Lawrence Smith set out to prove a theory, only to fail. But, in failure, he discovered that stocks had a hidden advantage over bonds in the long run. His work was published in 1924 and influenced the late '20s market boom.
The Battle for Investment Survival by Gerald Loeb
Gerald Loeb takes the contrary view that preservation capital requires some level of speculation to earn a return high enough to overcome the inevitable "losses" investors will experience in their lifetime.
Quantitative Value by Wesley Gray & Tobias Carlisle
All investors are susceptible to behavioral mistakes that then leads to poor returns. Gray and Carlisle create a quantitative value strategy that exploits the typical investors' flaws while building temperament into the model.
The Art of Investing by John F. Hume
John Ferguson Hume warns readers on many ways to lose money investing and speculating. The book represents a historical glimpse into Wall Street of the late 1800s and the timeless lessons of investor behavior.
The Acquirer’s Multiple by Tobias Carlisle
Tobias Carlisle breaks down how investors like Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn, and others take advantage of the powerful force in markets known as mean reversion, why it exists, the opportunities it creates, and how a deep value strategy captures it.
Where Are The Customers’ Yachts? by Fred Schwed Jr.
Fred Schwed delivers a cynical, sarcastic, insiders perspective on the business of Wall Street. His book stands as a timeless warning to investors and speculators alike.
Psychology of the Stock Market by G.C. Selden
G.C. Selden's timeless book describes the influence human nature has on markets and what investors/traders must do to overcome potential behavioral errors to be successful. It's as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1912.
A Short History of Financial Euphoria by John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith journeys through the recurring theme of speculative mania and financial ruin inherent in markets, His big picture view describes the common features associated with most euphoric episodes.
Concentrated Investing by Benello, Van Biema, Carlisle
Concentrated Investing profiles eight investors with different investment styles to figure out the principles behind their returns. Was it due to their behavior, the source of capital, the number of investment, or position sizing? The authors answer those questions then look at what the data says.
The Zurich Axioms by Max Gunther
The Zurich Axioms is a book about managing risk and reward. Twelve "axioms" define how to think about risk and uncertainty in such a way that you're more likely to be rewarded than not.
Confusion De Confusiones by Joseph De La Vega
Joseph De La Vega's Confusion De Confusiones is the earliest known book on the trading practices of a stock market. Set as four separate conversations between three people, you get a sense of what investing and speculating was like in the mid to late 1600s.
The Davis Dynasty by John Rothchild
John Rothchild tells the story of the Davis family and their fifty years of investing on Wall Street. The story starts with Shelby Cullom Davis's frugality, save first, opportunity seizing mentality, which he passed onto the next generation. The added contrast of market events during his life show what it took to build a fortune over five decades.
The Little Book That Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt
Joel Greenblatt's Little Book delivers a crash course in value investing. He covers how to view the market, why most people fail to beat the market, metrics for quality and low priced stocks, and how his Magic Formula works.
Simple Wealth Inevitable Wealth by Nick Murray
Nick Murray delivers the timeless "simple truths" of investing that never change regardless of where things stand with the markets.
The Money Game by Adam Smith
The Money Game is a series of stories on the games people play with money and markets. Told by Adam Smith (aka George Goodman), the stories uncover the emotion, error, myth, and irrationality that surrounds it all.
The Art of Speculation by Philip Carret
Based on a series of articles written for Barron's in 1927, Philip Carret writes an extensive introduction to the stock market, while laying the groundwork for market cycles, economic cycles, value investing, biases, and behavior.
Why You Win or Lose: The Psychology of Speculation by Fred C. Kelly
Fred C. Kelly proposed that by acting counter -- contrarian -- to the general tendencies of most market participants, one avoids most typical mistakes, and succeeds at investing. Studying average investor mistakes presents a guide to future dangers.
The Little Book of Behavioral Investing by James Montier
James Montier writes about the many ways investors are their own worst enemies. The book concentrates on the many repeated behavioral mistakes investors inflict on themselves that negatively impact returns in the process.
History
The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant
Will and Ariel Durant wrote the Lessons of History as a survey of human experience throughout history and the role human nature played in evolving and shaping civilization.
Why Don’t We Learn From History? by B.H. Liddell Hart
B. H. Liddell Hart wrote the book as a summary of the history of warfare. Rather than writing the lessons we learn from history, he inverts the message to the many lessons we fail to learn from history.
Psychology
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis by Richards J. Heuer, Jr.
Humans handle uncertainty poorly. Richard Heuer explains how inherent biases in our thought process work against us, that knowing about the biases is no help, but processes can be built to improve critical thinking.
Statistics
How to Take a Chance by Darrell Huff
Darrell Huff offers an introduction to the theory of probability that you can find in all aspects of life. He weaves in bits of humor and literature to explain the different concepts with real-life examples of coin tosses, card games, roulette, and dice that should help you avoid expensive mistakes.
How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff
Darrell Huff's book is about the long history of data deception. He explains the many ways data can be manipulated -- to misrepresent facts, to tell a different story -- in advertising, politics, and other areas and how to defend yourself from it.